The Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers are both heading into the 2013 season with very high expectations for their quarterbacks and with the Bears franchise bringing in a new offensive minded coach, quarterback Jay Cutler will be all the focus as the team tries to turn things around after the Lovie Smith era.
The Bears loved what they heard from Trestman in interviews and they were thrilled to bring him in to work with Jay Cutler as the team tries to get back to the playoffs again. The team came close last season and missed out despite winning on the final day of the year and now the team will try and get things more balanced with Cutler and Matt Forte while looking for other stars to step up around high flying wideout Brandon Marshall, who had a fantastic season in 2012.
The Bears are working on overhauling their offensive line this offseason and the first chance the coaches will get to see it in real action is on Friday against the Panthers and after Cutler was banged around a bunch last season, they are looking for more consistent play overall on the line. The team went 10-6 last season and Cutler missed some time after getting beat up by opposing defenses and that is why the team drafted a lineman in the first round of the draft.
The Bears ranked 29th in the league in passing last season behind Cutler's 3,033 yards and the team is dying for someone to step up with Marshall, as he gained nearly all the yardage last season with 1,508 on 118 catches and the next guy on the list was Earl Bennett with just 29 and that needs to change. The team added Martellus Bennett from the Giants in the offseason and they feel that his talent is just scratching the surface and he will be a prime option over the middle after setting career highs with the Giants last season.
The Bears open with the Panthers before playing the San Diego Chargers on ESPN in Week 2 and then they will travel to Cali to visit the Oakland raiders before finishing up at home against the Cleveland Browns. The Panthers had an awful start to the season and so did Cam Newton, but after turning things around the team went on a nice streak and Newton finished the year with some very good stats at nearly 4,000 yards passing and 741 yards rushing to lead the team and head coach Ron Rivera is expecting more of the same this year.
Newton and the Panthers will play the Bears before hitting the road to play Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles and then the team will play the Baltimore Ravens on ESPN in Week 3 before finishing the preseason against the Steelers. Last season the team ranked 16th in passing yards and ninth in rushing yards per game and now Newton will be expected to get the team into the playoffs or close to it after coming into his third year in the league and the team will open with the Seahawks and Bills in the regular season before playing the New York Giants at home in Week 3 before having a bye in Week 4.
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